Montgomery News

City of Rockville Mayor and Council met Aug. 31.

Here is the agenda provided by the Council:

9:30 AM 1. Convene 2. Authorize the City Manager to Execute an Agreement between the Mayor and Council of Rockville and Montgomery County, Maryland (Herein Referred to as "County") to Participate in the Montgomery County Active Employee Benefit Plan met Friday, Aug. 31.

Here is the agenda provided by the Council:

1. Convene

2. Authorize the City Manager to Execute an Agreement between the Mayor and Council of Rockville and Montgomery County, Maryland (Herein Referred to as "County") to Participate in the Montgomery County Active Employee Benefit Plan

3. Adjournment

Subject

Authorize the City Manager to Execute an Agreement between the Mayor and Council of Rockville and Montgomery County, Maryland (Herein Referred to as "County") to Participate in the Montgomery County Active Employee Benefit Plan

Recommendation

Staff recommends that the Mayor and Council authorize the City Manager to execute an Agreement, in a form acceptable to the City Attorney, to participate in Montgomery County's Active Employee Benefit Plan.

Discussion

The City Manager established the Health Benefits Advisory Committee (HBAC) in 2017 to engage employees, with support from the Human Resources Department, in a comprehensive review of the City’s health benefits. The Committee met regularly between October 2017 and August 2018 to review options for the 2019 plan calendar year and provide recommendations to the City Manager and Director of Human Resources. A summary of their analysis and recommendation is provided in the memo in Attachment A.

The HBAC members included:

• Castor Chasten, CPDS

• Kimberly Francisco, Finance

• Paige Janzen, Recreation and Parks

• Alexandra Kramer, Recreation and Parks (AAME)

• Wei Liu, Information and Technology

• Daniel Morozewicz, Police (FOP) (Alternate, Michelle Trotter)

• Marcus Odorizzi, Human Resources

• Tanya Porter, City Manager’s Office

• Patricia Ryan, City Manager’s Office – Procurement

• Lise Soukup, Public Works (AAME)

• Clifton Vann, Recreation and Parks (AFSCME)

In addition to briefings with subject matter experts for information gathering, the Committee engaged all city employees in their work through a survey. The survey results and other information gathered contributed to the Committee’s assessment and recommendation.

The Committee examined the following options for securing health benefits for City employees for the 2019 plan calendar year. Attachment A summarizes the pros and cons that the Committee identified for each option.

• Join the Local Government Insurance Trust Health Consortium (LGIT Health) through Benecon, LGIT Health’s consortium administrator,

• Replace all City plans with Kaiser Permanente (Kaiser) as a single provider option,

• Renew the City’s current carriers and plans with Kaiser and Cigna,

• Replace current Cigna plans with those offered by Aetna, and

• Join with Montgomery County as a participating agency to their health plans.

The HBAC recommends that the City of Rockville join with Montgomery County Government for the 2019 health plan year as a participating agency. The City Manager supports the Committee’s recommendation.

On August 16, 2018, Montgomery County forwarded to the City their health benefits premium rates for the 2019 plan year; the HBAC met on August 21, 2018 to review the premium rates in addition to the rates associated with the other options considered. The HBAC met with the City Manager on August 23, 2018 to present their recommendation. Due to the County’s request to be notified of the City’s intent to become a health benefits participating agency, by September 1, 2018, this Mayor and Council meeting is scheduled to authorize the City Manager to execute an agreement with the County.

Upon receiving direction from the Mayor and Council to proceed, the Human Resources Department would continue working closely with the HBAC and Montgomery County on the implementation of this change. This will include preparing a detailed implementation strategy and timeline, as well as executing an Agreement, in a form acceptable to the City Attorney, to participate in the Montgomery County Active Employee Benefit Plan with the start of the 2019 plan year on January 1, 2019.

Mayor and Council History

This is the first time that the Mayor and Council has discussed the Health Benefit Advisory Committee’s work and the option of joining Montgomery County’s Active Employee Benefit Plan.

Procurement

This agreement will be done in accordance with Section 17-72(a) of the Rockville City Code, “Contracting with Public Entities,” which states the City may contract directly with other public entities for goods or services when such goods or services were obtained through competitive procurement procedures. The County has completed a thorough procurement process and the City will ride the County’s contract.

Based on the thorough analysis conducted by the HBAC, it has been determined to be in the best interest of the City to join Montgomery County’s health plans for calendar year 2019 as a participating agency. The City will receive the best overall value as it relates to favorable premiums, copays and deductibles, and a diverse selection of plan offerings.

Fiscal Impact

The City budgeted $5.1 million for fiscal year 2019 employee health benefits. By partnering with Montgomery County, the City anticipates savings for the 2nd half of fiscal year 2019; approximately $258,000 or 5% as compared to the amount budgeted. Additionally, the City anticipates that partnering with Montgomery County will also result in savings in future years. Their large workforce provides them with greater bargaining power and being self-insured allows them to manage their plans’ rate increases. Over the last four years, the County has seen average annual health insurance rate increases of 5%, while the City’s most popular health plan had average annual rate increases of 19%.

Next Steps

If the Mayor and Council supports the HBAC and staff recommendation to join the County’s health benefit plan, staff will notify Montgomery County of Rockville’s intent to participate. Staff will continue working with County personnel on outstanding questions and an implementation plan in preparation for January 1, 2019. The City Manager will also sign an agreement with the County, in a form acceptable to the City Attorney.

http://www.rockvillemd.gov/AgendaCenter/ViewFile/Agenda/_08312018-2332